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2016 Copa América in the U.S.

By Jack Bell October 24, 2012 8:35 pmOctober 24, 2012 8:35 pm

5:26 p.m.|Update

On Thursday, Sunil Gulati, the president of the U.S. Soccer Federation told the Associated Press that there are many issues still to be worked out before Copa América could be played in the U.S. in 2016.

“While the idea of a centennial tournament with some of the best teams in the hemisphere is certainly intriguing, it is not something we have agreed to host or participate in at this time,” he said. “As Concacaf stated, there are still a number of discussions that need to take place with Conmebol. U.S. Soccer would also need to be involved in discussions about hosting the tournament. We’re looking forward to those discussions in the near future.”

The United States may have failed in its bid to land either the 2018 or 2022 World Cup, but it will play host to perhaps the next-best thing: the Copa América in 2016.

In July 2016, Conmebol will complete its first century of life. In order to commemorate this with the pomp it deserves, the association presidents and members of the executive committee have decided to have a tournament of teams across America. This competition, which will be called the Centennial Copa America, will take place in the United States and will bring together 16 teams: the 10 South American, plus 6 from Concacaf, including Mexico and the United States and the four top-placed from the Concacaf Gold Cup.

The United States has played in three of the South American championship tournaments — in 1993, 1995 and 2007 — with its best finish, fourth place, coming in 1995. Mexico has been invited to the past eight tournaments.

In some quarters, the idea of combining Conmebol with Concacaf, the confederation of North, Central American and Caribbean nations, has been floated as a way to strength both confederations. There are only 10 countries in Conmebol, which has been dominated by Brazil and Argentina. Brazil will host the 2014 World Cup, the first time the tournament has been played in South America since 1978 in Argentina. Concacaf has been dominated by Mexico and the U.S.

The U.S. has hosted the Concacaf Gold Cup (as it will next summer) every two years since 1991 (co-hosting with Mexico in 1993 and 2003).

Do you think this is a coup for the United States? Would you like to see Concacaf and Conmebol combine? If not, should the U.S. always seek entry to the Copa América?

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